“which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:23)

Here it talks about how the church is the body of Christ, and Christ fills all in all. Thank God.

The church is the body of Christ. The church comprises of the people who have been bought by the blood of Christ. In order for them to be bought by the blood of Christ, there needs to have been the Holy Spirit to witness this. No matter what race, sex, status, or age we are, so long as we are baptized through the Holy Spirit, we become a part of this one body. The Holy Spirit personally testifies that our blood has been washed by Christ. If there is no Holy Spirit witnessing, we cannot receive the washing of the blood of Christ. The personal witnessing of the Holy Spirit in baptism allows us to, during our baptism today, be washed by the blood that Jesus Christ shed 2000 years ago. Then our old man will be crucified with Christ together on the cross and buried together. Because of the promise of the Holy Spirit, we are born again through the Holy Spirit. When we come up from baptism, we are a new man in Christ, with a new life.

The body of Christ has many members. Since we are a part of Christ, we need organization, or we will be scattered. When we look at our bodies, we can see that everything is held together within our skin, and the tendons, flesh and bones are all held together. In society, if you hold a position of status, then others beneath you must listen to you. In church, holding a position is different and guided by different values—one in such a position must serve others.

In Christ, we have many members. But not every member of Christ’s body is with us in church. We must reach out to weak members. We cannot think that when weak members do not come that we are therefore a stronger church.

“No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty,” (1 Corinthians 12:22-23)

We cannot neglect any member of the body. If someone is weak and we cut such a person off, how can we practice loving one another? Those who are weak must remain in our body and we must look for them. This must be part of our holy work. How do we organize holy work? How do we end up doing different types of holy work in church?

We must have a good understanding of gifts. Gifts are distributed by the Holy Spirit. The body of Christ is filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit understands the needs of the church. Hence, He distributes gifts accordingly.

“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)

“But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” (1 Corinthians 12:11)

The Holy Spirit is the one who distributes these gifts. This is like how in our body, our organs serve different functions for us. Likewise, in the body of Christ. Gifts are only differentiated by what they are for, but they are not different in their value. It is not that the one who stands on the pulpit and preaches is a more valuable gift. If you think this way, you are looking at the body of Christ through secular eyes. If everyone pursues the gift of preaching on the pulpit because this is a work in the limelight, then you would not like to use the washroom in church because nobody would be cleaning it. We certainly need the right understanding: there is no differentiation in the value of each gift, but only in its function. According to the gift God has given us, we organize ourselves into different holy work to do for God.

“I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.” (1 Timothy 5:21)

This is very important, which was why Paul charged this to Timothy before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels. We serve only to delight the Lord, and hence we must obey this. We must do things without prejudice and to do nothing with partiality. This is how the church will grow. If church workers do things in church with prejudice, the church will lose harmony. How will the body be strong?

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” (Romans 12:3-5)

Paul says that we need to look at our gifts accurately. When others ask us to take up holy work, then we would understand that God has given us this gift and thank God, we can serve. If we are asked to carry the burden of 100 talents but we know that we only bear 50 talents, then we would be able to tell someone that we cannot do this work. If both parties (church leaders and believers) are able to do this, then we would be able to build up a body that delights the Lord.

We must also have a shared life amongst the members of the body. We must care for one another. No member can exist outside the body, meaning, to leave it. When the church has weaknesses, or when we see that members have friction between them because their love is insufficient—perhaps someone may not hence want to go to church because of negative relations with someone else in church, this is the time that the devil awaits to pounce on us.

“For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body?” (1 Corinthians 12:14-15)

None of us in the body can claim that we are not of the body. We have been baptized, and God has brought us to this church (in Leicester). So we must be connected to the body. No matter how weak we are, we cannot say that we do not want to go to church. This is how we remain connected to the body.

“And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it,” (1 Corinthians 12:23-24)

If we have appendicitis, we would want to cut off our appendix so that we do not suffer in the future. However, science tells us that the appendix does have a benefit for our immune system. We cannot lose even a member of the body that is weak. The bones are the strongest. However, the heart and internal organs are weak. Even what is inside our skull is weak. But God has created it such that the bones protect these parts. What we feel is weak in the body, we cannot do without. Why has God made it such? So that we can have a life amongst the members of the body of Christ, so that we can achieve loving one another.

If you have a cut in your body, your body will send more white blood cells and antibodies to that part. They would try to stop the bacteria from invading the body there. The body would try to heal the wound too. In church, it is the same. When someone’s spiritual nurture is weak and this person begins to doubt the truth, the church must send people to visit them, even to set up a prayer group to pray for them daily, asking God to give them a heart of repentance and to bring them back. Today, the church does not call us to do many great things; God only calls us to love one another.

God has called sheep. Why then are there goats in His flock? Let us read Matthew 25:31 onwards. He who does not love one another is a goat in the eyes of the Lord. If someone is facing difficulties in his life and does not have things to eat, we must support such brethren. This is what Jesus wants us to do. What is a life shared with members like but to share in joy and share in sufferings?

“that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” (1 Corinthians 12:25-27)

If someone suffers, all suffer with him, and support him. If someone is honoured, everyone else rejoices. If my right hand really knows how to play badminton, would people say, “This is your right hand that has won the championship”? No, the whole body receives honour together.

Third, the body must grow. This happens through the body working together in cooperation.

“but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)

We are joined and knit together. What else must we do? Every part must does its share. If you can prophecy, prophecy according to the word of God. If you can visit, visit others. If you can cook, join the cooking team. Do as according to your talent. If you have two talents, earn two talents. If you have one talent, do one talent. In this parable that Jesus gives, its focus is not on how many talents you have but whether your use your talent. You must be a good steward of what gift God has given to you. Serve according to your gift from God. If every member of the body works on their own, there is division. Members must cooperate and work together.

Just the action of eating, many members must work together. The right hand must hold the utensils to take food to put it in the mouth. The teeth must chew on the food. The tongue must move. Then the saliva must be secreted; within the saliva there are enzymes to digest the food. Then you must swallow it and the food goes down. The stomach then moves and digests your food with digestive juices. Then the nutrients in your food is absorbed in the small intestine and sent throughout your whole body with the help of blood. When the nutrients are in your blood, it is for every part of your body so that every part will grow. This is the same in Leicester church today. Every part of the body must do their part and work together, to complement one another’s gifts in Christ.

The hardest part is complementing one another’s gifts. Each of us have different personalities and educational attainments. Sometimes as we try to complement one another we instead have friction. What do we do now? We use the love of Christ to forgive one another. When we see weaknesses in the body of Christ, we must speak the truth in love. The speaker thinks we do not practice this enough. Because when we speak the truth in love, others will often not like us. It is rare that others will say, “Thank God, you have pointed out my weaknesses. Thank you.” When the speaker’s children was younger, whenever he disciplined his children and pointed out their mistakes, he made it a routine that his children had to thank him for doing so, since he was speaking the truth in love to them. Sometimes in church when someone does something wrong, we end up speaking behind this person’s back but nobody speaks the truth in love to this person, as if we are just waiting for this person to fall. None of us want to be the “bad guy”. Unfortunately, the speaker believes this is a common atmosphere we can find in church today. We need the Holy Spirit to help us. We do not speak the truth in love by just saying, “Hey, I want to speak the truth in love to you! You have done this and that wrongly!” We need God to give us wisdom to speak the truth at the best time, under the best circumstances, using the tone that the other party can accept, to speak. And if the other party can accept it, thank God, he would grow.

“causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Ephesians 4:16b

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1)

God saved us! That is how very naturally we can serve God today. We must offer up ourselves as a living sacrifice. Our service to God is not only in the church chapel. Even at home, we serve God. Does the husband serve the wife? Does the wife serve the husband and submit to him? When you work in a company, you are also serving God. Wherever you are, God is looking at how you offer your living sacrifice on the altar. Remember, Colossians 3 tells us that God is not partial. Moreover, through the living sacrifices we give to God, this is how the church receives glory.

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

God wants the body to be glorious. When we all serve the Lord, when all of us are convicted that we want to glorify the Lord, then God’s glory will also be in the church.